Mysteryof Creation: Some Vedantic Concepts

By T.N.SethumadhavanJanuary 2010

This essay originally appeared in the May, 2000 issue of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ illustrated monthly ‘Sapthagiri’ which is now revised.

Introduction

One of the oldest pastimes of man is to run the search engine of his contemplative and analytical faculties to find out the final answer to the riddle of creation of the universe. This question is not merely academic but it also assumes the colors of religion, philosophy,science and poetry.

We have answers to this enigma in every religion. We have scientific theories throwing up endless ever changing conclusions. We have philosophers’ speculations and poetic imaginations. But the mystery of creation remains as much unfathomed and unsolved today as in the Vedic days.

Vedic Perspective on Creation

Creation is interpreted in the Vedas as a developmental course rather than as bringing into being something not hitherto existent. It was considered as a process and not an event. The Purusha Sukta paints a picture of the ideal primeval being existing before any phenomenal existence. He is conceived as a cosmic person with a thousand heads, eyes and feet, who filled the whole universe and extended beyond it. The world form is only a fragment of this divine reality.

The first principle which is called Purusha manifested as the whole world by his Tapas. This viewgets crystallized into the later Upanishadic doctrine that the spirit or Atman in man (at microcosm) is the same as the spirit which is the cause of the world which goes by the name Brahman or Paramatman (at macrocosm).

The earliest and the most remarkable account of creation is to be found in the famous Naasadiya Sukta of Rig Veda. This verse explains the universe as evolving out of the one Absolute Reality which pervades and permeates the whole cosmos. But the One is not a god like Indra, Varuna, Prajapathi or Viswakarman. The hymn declares that all these gods are of a later origin and hence they know nothing of the beginning of things. Atranslation of this famous hymn by Swami Vivekanandais given below;

Nāsadīya Sūkta
THE HYMN OF CREATION*
( 129th Sukta of the 10th Mandala of the Rigveda)
1 / Existence was not then, nor non - existence,
The world was not, the sky beyond was neither.
What covered the mist? Of whom was that?
What was in the depths of darkness thick?
2 / Death was not then, nor immortality,
The night was neither separate from day,
But motionless did That vibrate
Alone, with Its own glory one --
Beyond That nothing did exist.
3 / At first in darkness hidden darkness lay,
Undistinguished as one mass of water,
Then That which lay in void thus covered
A glory did put forth by Tapah!
4 / First desire rose, the primal seed of mind,
(The sages have seen all this in their hearts
Sifting existence from non - existence.)
Its rays above, below and sideways spread.
5 / Creative then became the glory,
With self - sustaining principle below.
And Creative Energy above.
6 / Who knew the way? Who there declared
Whence this arose? Projection whence?
For after this projection came the gods.
Who therefore knew indeed, came out this whence?
7 / This projection whence arose,
Whether held or whether not,
He the ruler in the supreme sky, of this
He, O Sharman! knows, or knows not
He perchance!

* The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda - Volume 6 [Page: 178]

Hence the first principle, That One - tad ekam - cannot be characterized. It is without qualities or attributes, even negative ones. To apply to it any description is to limit the limitless. Yet after attempting to describe such a state presumed to be prior to creation the hymn has the humility to admit that all this is a surmise, for it is not possible to be sure of things which lie so far beyond human knowledge.

Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi echoes more or less the same idea when he replies a devotee that the Srutis do not mean to set forth any theories of creation.He says that they mention such theories casually so that the enquirer may please himself if he be so inclined. According to him the truth is that the world appears as a passing shadow in a flood of light. Light is necessary to see the shadow also. But the shadow does not deserve any special notice or analysis.

Views of Upanishads on creation

Vedantic masters say that knowing the truth of creation is tantamount to knowing the truth of God. All their arguments and views to unravel the truth behind creation are based on the Upanishads. Their explanation of creation is subtle which can be fathomed only by a contemplative mind.

Sometime or the other man always thinks about certain fundamental puzzles of life viz. Who am I? Wherefrom I have come? Where do I go? What is the purpose of my coming? These questions do arise because when an effect is perceived, the intellect seeks to find out its cause.

Let us have a peek into some of the Upanishads on this point.

Many such questions were posed to a teacher by his students in the Prasna Upanishad making a direct enquiry into the phenomenon called the universe with a viewto discover the ultimate cause for all the pluralistic existence. The answers given are the subject matter of this entire Upanishad.

Similar questions were answered by the master in Aitareya Upanishad. ‘In the beginning verily, Atman (Self) alone was this Universe.... nothing else whatsoever was active.’ The emphasis is on the words nothing else. As an individual can understand the world only with reference to himself, the Rishi says that before the creation of the pluralistic world all that existed was the Self or Atman of the seeker which is nothing but the All Pervading reality, Brahman.

This idea that the self alone existed, implies that the Supreme did not create the world of plurality out of some material cause just as a pot-maker makes his pots out of clay which is other than the potter himself. In the program of creation of the universe, the Supreme itself is both the raw material, which is termed as material cause as well as the blue collar worker which is named as the efficient cause.

This is explained in the Mundakopanishad: ‘As a spider projects and withdraws into itself the web, as the plants sprout from the earth, as hair grows on the head and body of man, so from the Imperishable comes out the Universe’.

This Mantra gives us three ideas to grasp the creative process.

  1. Out of the Supreme the world has come without the intervention of any cause other than Himself and in the end the projected world gets absorbed back again into the Divine.
  2. The Supreme neither exerts the effort nor the purpose in the process of creation. Creation is an effortless, purposeless projection, a Divine Leela or play and
  3. The Supreme is not a dead inert matter like a sunless void or an irreversible emptiness. It is an active, positive, conscious and vital personality, an All Pervading Essence which goes by the description Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute and Bliss Absolute).

Cause and effect relationshipchapter 2

These ideas raise certain doubts such as what are the causes to be present for the unmanifest to become the manifest, what is the exact material with which the creator creates the world of forms and names and who is the creator?

This leads us to the nature of cause and effect relationship. To convert a cause into an effect three properties must be present.

  1. The raw material - clay in the hands of a potter - is called the material cause.
  2. The instrument required to give a shape to the raw material - the potter’s wheel - is called instrumental cause.
  3. The intelligence that converts the raw material into a finished product- since mere presence of clay and wheel cannot produce pots, an intelligent potter is required to achieve the manifestation of clay into a pot - is called the efficient cause.

In the creation of the world. This intelligence-provider like today’s Internet Service Provider or Chetana Shakti is called Iswara, the creator. Thus Iswara, is none other than the potential of creation lying dormant in the Supreme Self, Brahman or Paramatman (all the three terms meaning the same)

Adi Sankara explains, ‘The Supreme, just out of His own free will, unrolled the universe, which before creation remained unmanifest, like the future tree in a seed. He later on projected himself out to be the world of endless varieties of names and forms due to the delusory play of time and space, both being the products of Maya which is also His own power.’

Just as in the unmanifested state of a seed of a tree, there is no distinction of branches, leaves, flowers, fruits etc. in an unmanifested state, the world of names and forms remains in its potential format called Vasanas or impressions.

After every cycle of dissolution of the Universe, Pralaya, the world of beings, which at that time exists as Vasanas or mental impressions, manifests into a world that is suitable for them to express themselves fully just as a seed given proper weather, soil and other conditions grows into a big tree.

This process can be grasped through the means of an illustration. When a potter creates a pot out of clay, it is presumed that the clay has got the quality of’ ‘potness’. This quality present in the clay lends itself amenable in the hands of the potter to turn the clay into a pot. Obviously, he cannot produce a pot out of sand available on the sea beach because the ‘potness’ is not there in the sand. Although we say that a pot has been created, in fact there is no creation of any new thing at all. The potter has merely given a shape and a name to the already existing potnes in clay. So too, creation is nothing but a projection or manifestation of names, forms and qualities of the beings remaining dormant or in an unmanifested condition in the Supreme.

Maya

The power of Brahman responsible for the act of projecting the world is called Maya, Avidya or Ajnana i.e. ignorance. When Brahman becomes associated with Maya it is called Isawara. In the common parlance, God. Brahman is all knowing - omniscient, all powerful-omnipotent and all pervading - omnipresent. He is the starting point of creation.

Hiranyagarbha

There is a second aspect of Brahman which is its association with the totality of Vasanas or the subtle bodies in creation, permeating them like the thread through the beads. Hence he is known as Hiranyagarbha or Sutratman, the unmanifested seed state of creation. He is also called Prana or Prajapathi, being the subtle principle of life.

Different Explanations

The Supreme exercises the powers of creation at his own discretion. This action is explained in different ways by different scriptures.

Aitareya Upanishad says, ‘Hethought I shall indeed create the world.’

Taittiriya Upanishad states ‘He desired I shall become and be born. He performed Tapas. Having performed Tapas, He created all this whatsoever we perceive.’

Prasna Upanishad says Prajapati, having performed penance, created a pair - Rayi, matter and Prana, energy - thinking that they would together between themselves produce creatures in many forms.

Kathopanishad says the whole Universe, evolved from the Brahman, moves or vibrates in the Prana meaning thereby that creation is a motion, a vibration of energy.

Mundakopanishad says from the Brahman are produced all these:the Creator, names and forms and nourishment for all.

Chandogya Upanishad says that in truth, this many seeming world is only one Reality, in which all things seem to be born, seem to live and pass away.

Svetasvatara Upanishad uses a simile to explain the process of creation. Just as a ray of light, though colorless in itself, assumes different colors when it passes through a prism, the formless Brahman who is one without a second, who is undifferentiated - nirvisesha, for the reasons not known to the human mind, created diversity at all levels with the help of His own power. When the world meets its end, all these diversities merge back unto Him.

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad gives a detailed account of how the One, Brahman became many - all the elements and the pairs of male and female.

Maitri Upanishad tells us that the three worlds, Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svah, are the very gross forms of Prajapati.

Paingala Upanishad mentions the famous process of quintuplication -panchikarana- or splitting and mixing up of subtle elements in various proportions to make them gross substances out of which Prajapati created many Brahmandas - macrocosms and many worlds appropriate to each of them - microcosms.

Brahma Sutras which interpret and organise the Upanishads, regard Brahman as the material as well as the efficient cause of the universe, its origin and support, himself uncreated and eternal.

Bhagavad Gita

The gist of chapters 7, 9 and 15 of the Gita which deal with this topic is that all the physical elements of nature, including the material bodies of animate beings and their sensory and mental functions, may be grouped together forming the ever changing physical aspect of the universe. This is called Prakriti.

Behind the living is the soul that dwells within each being and animates it. Behind all again is the Supreme Being whose power holds together all the changes visible in one organic existence. He dwells within, supports and moves everything, but exists apart from all.

The Absolute is the universal soul or Purusha of which the whole prakriti or nature is an outward manifestation. The universe moves according to what are known as the laws of nature. This code of nature is nothing but the manifestation of the Supreme will. Life proceeds as if wholly independent of God.

Bhagavan says ‘Reflect on this that as the mighty air everywhere moving is yet fixed in space, even so all beings, are dependent on me’.

Theories of non-creationchapter 3

Gaudapada, the earliest advocate of Advaita Vedanta,says the Supreme Reality neither created this universe nor did he become the universe. According to him there is no creation and the entire world is nothing but a mental projection made by ourselves.

Yoga Vasishta, which is a dialogue between sage Vasishta and Sri Rama, also tells us that there is no creation of the world. It says that this creation is a mere play of consciousness. It rises up, like the delusion of a snake in a rope when there is ignorance. It comes to an end when there is right knowledge. The world appears when the Self is not recognized; it disappears when the Self is recognized. Just as the cloth, when investigated, is seen to be nothing but the thread, so also this world, when enquired into is seen to be merely the Self. As the foam, the waves, the bubbles etc. are not different from the water, even so this world which has come out of the Self is not different from the Self.Like the pot which ultimately goes back to the mud, waves into the water and ornaments into gold, so also this world which has come out of the Self finally goes back to the Self.

Sankara’s Definition

The universe, says Sankara, is a superimposition upon Brahman. Brahman remains eternally infinite and unchanged. He is not transformed into the universe as in the case of milk getting converted into curd. He simply appears as the universe to us, in our ignorance. We superimpose the apparent world upon Brahman, just as we superimpose a snake on the rope because of inadequate light.

This theory of superimposition is based on the concept of Maya by which the real image is concealed and a false one is projected. Sankara does not deny the physical existence of the world of thought and matter but says that it has got only a relative or apparent existence which is superimposed upon Brahman. He emphasizes that the Brahman alone is the absolute reality or the substratum behind the empirical universe.

According to him, Salvation consists in the merger of the individual self with Brahman. When such right knowledge is comprehended, the superimposition vanishes and the seeker becomes one with Brahman. He attains Moksha.

Conclusionchapter 4

It will be observed from the foregoing discussion that the riddle of the universe is the extraordinary secret which baffled man ever since he began to think deeply and which, as Rajaji puts it, must ever remain an insoluble paradox.

In the Vedas, the Upanishads and other Hindu scriptures the creation of the perceived universe is described over and over again in a bewildering variety of ways that often seem to contradict one another. This is because the human intellect being finite or limited cannot comprehend the Infinite or the Unlimited – Brahman - which has no qualities or attributes amenable for description.

But beneath all these apparent differences and contradictions, there is one fundamental principle which reveals to us that creation is a continuous process in which appearance, continuance and disintegration or otherwise understood as birth; life and death are no more than different stoppages in the same circular journey of repeated rounds. Nothing disintegrates or dies absolutely. It merely merges in the flux of the cosmic entity to reappear or be reborn in another form.